Raincheck Days and Wednesdays Always Get Me Down
My friend “L” is one of the most down-to-earth, level-headed, straight-forward people I know. She is very knowledgable about a wide range of subjects, and anything she doesn’t know, she researches studiously. When she makes choices - whether it be about food, shopping, life decisions, etc. - they are always well-informed and well-researched.
You’d think a responsible person like this would have no trouble getting what she wants at restaurants, stores, doctor’s offices, etc., because she know what she’slooking for and knows what’s available and necessary. The problem (as it is with almost anything) is other people. L is a highly intelligent, highly efficient person. She is therefore outnumbered by billions of the opposite type of people on this planet. You would be amazed at how many bad experiences she’s had at restaurants and the like simply because people are incompetent. Maybe the most competent people are magnets for the least. I don’t know, but here is the latest of her misadventures, in her own words:
I don’t very often shop at Toys R Us but found them on my list of errands this week because they had a bike on sale that I thought would be great for my oldest daughter. I arrived at the store just after they opened at 10 AM. I had no trouble finding the bike I wanted to purchase. Unfortunately it was on the top rack. I was able to locate an employee who went to see if there was a bike in the back. He came out and told me the only one left in stock was the one on the rack would cost me an additional $10 because it was already assembled.
Most stores I visit charge you less for floor models, not more. Plus, I didn’t ask them to assemble it. I’m perfectly capable of doing that myself. I explained that I did not wish to pay the assembly fee and that I would be happy to take the assembled bike without the assembly fee or a rain check. I was then told they couldn’t waive the assembly fee and they could not give me a rain check as long as there was product that could be sold. I asked for a manager.
When the same employee returned minus a manager I was told they could get me a rain check at the service counter. I proceeded to the service counter where I had to wait several minutes in line. I then requested a rain check. At first they refused and insisted on checking with employees and stock room personnel (something I had already done), and even a truck they were unloading, to make sure there really was no bike in inventory. I mean, it’s certainly likely that if there was a bike in inventory I would rather get a rain check than the item I actually wanted to purchase. I have had to ask for rain checks from other stores. It’s generally no big deal. However, I spent the next 30 minutes giving the same information repeatedly while 3 different employees tried to figure out how to get me a rain check. They ended up calling a manager to get me a rain check.
Nearly an hour later I managed to walk out of the store with a rain check, a lot of irritation, and no bike. Apparently the moral of the story is, if you need to waste an hour of your life, go to Toys R Us and ask the counter of disservice to get you a rain check.
dmarks responds:
Posted: May 23rd, 2008 at 4:29 am →
No wonder Wal-Mart is eating them for lunch
K responds:
Posted: June 10th, 2008 at 1:24 pm →
I think the real question is whether or not the $10.00 fee can be waived on irritation alone? Yeah, they should charge less for something that is on the floor and people have already handled/possibly scratched during assembly. Not to mention staff members who probably ride around on the assembled models after hours, beer in one hand, knocking over Hannah Montana displays throughout the store. Say you’ll pay the $10.00 if they can pimp it out with pink & purple streamers and a ching-ching bell. Or is that “Bling-Bling Bell” nowadays?